Hello there. Okay so the hello pun might be overused when it comes to to the new taxi app Hailo, but it sure is apt for an app that I've been overusing these few days! With so many taxi apps (Say, Uber, GrabTaxi, Easy Taxi, and Hailo!) that hit our tiny island in recent weeks, you might be skeptical about what's going on? To say it in a single line: Taxi apps are the middlemen to provide a platform that coordinates passengers and taxi drivers together.
Built for customers
Why am I featuring Hailo in here? It's the newest taxi app as of now, I've tried it 3 times within two days and I'm already hooked onto its extremely intuitive and easy user interface and functions. Hailo is the brainchild of three taxi drivers from London, which explains why it is so well-built for both taxi drivers and customers.
Hailo has at least 1000 taxis signed up with them, but either case I waited for less than 15 minutes the first time, instantly got one the second time, and 5 minutes for the third time. My favourite part is how chic the whole design is! I tried to find a taxi through Uber app on a few occasions, but I couldn't.
Built for taxi drivers
Unlike Uber's system which makes taxi drivers bid for their customers, Hailo works on a system whereby the app intelligently allocate the nearest taxi driver to the customer. I'm using these two apps for comparison because these are the only ones I've downloaded and tried. I found that Hailo's system encouraged safer driving because the driver only has to tap once per customer. However, for Uber's system, it makes the drivers more competitive and inattentive as they constantly have to 'fight' for customers while on the road.
Incentives
Hailo | They have a one-time promotional code of "HELLOSING" of $10 credits. I had a couple of $15 promotional codes which I think was from an earlybird sign-up, but I'm sure there will be more promotional codes coming up as their marketing strategies.
Uber | There is a referral program under Uber - "When a friend rides with your code, you both get $10"! Mine is WDF42 if you intend to download Uber and get an instant $10 credits ;) There is a sustainable system of credits under Uber.
So... Uber or Hailo? Have you tried any of them? One taxi driver also mentioned that his favourite app to use is Grab Taxi app! I haven't tried it yet because I only use apps with promo codes (#CheapoAlert) but the good part of it is how it reflects all the taxis in the region immediately.
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